In the electronic information age, people may share, access, and disseminate high volumes of information. The ease with which information may be disseminated electronically is empowering. At the same time, the workforce has become increasingly mobile, and the ubiquity of high-speed Internet access, smart mobile devices, and portable storage means that “the office” may be anywhere. As a consequence, it has become more difficult than ever for organizations to prevent the loss of sensitive data. Organizations are therefore increasingly looking to data-loss prevention (“DLP”) solutions to protect their sensitive data.
Traditional DLP systems may employ a variety of heuristics and intercept data at a variety of points in a computing system in efforts to detect and regulate the flow and access of sensitive data. Unfortunately, some heuristics may be computationally intensive, potentially consuming valuable computing resources and/or adding latency to the end-user experience. Furthermore, various heuristic methods may yield an unacceptable rate of false positives or false negatives. Accordingly, the instant disclosure addresses a need for systems and methods that leverage contextual information when selecting and applying data-loss prevention policies and remediations.